During a divorce and after the divorce has been finalized New Jersey Alimony Law, one party might need financial help from the other party. This sort of financial help is called alimony.
It makes room for the spouse supported to go on with a standard of living that is not far from what they had in the marriage. Usually, alimony is on until the spouse is able to become financially stable.
Types of New Jersey Alimony Law
In New Jersey, 5 types of alimony are recognized. They are limited duration alimony, temporary alimony, permanent alimony, reimbursement alimony, and rehabilitative alimony.
Temporary alimony (alimony pendents lite) is the type of alimony awarded to unemployed or low-earning spouses. It helps in covering their living expenses during the proceedings of a divorce.
A judge can award a spouse limited duration alimony. This type of alimony is dependent on the spouse’s needs. It is on as long as the spouse is not yet financially independent.
Permanent alimony awards to people getting out of a long marriage. They had to sacrifice education opportunities or a career to provide care for family members.
If you request permanent alimony, the factors below will have to be considered by the court to know if you are eligible for permanent alimony. The court will also conclude if you need other support orders before apart from the permanent alimony.
For rehabilitative alimony to awards, the spouse making the request has to give to the court steps that will be passed through in rehabilitation, the period of rehabilitation, and a time of employment to take place while rehabilitation lasts.
The aim of rehabilitative alimony is for the affected spouse to find their feet. It also aims at making education and training available so that financially dependent spouses can get stable after a divorce.
Reimbursement alimony aims at compensating a spouse who was supportive to their partner when they had to get advanced education and looked forward to the benefits but failed to enjoy the benefits resulting from legal separation or divorce.
The court has the freedom to award a blend of all the above as they deem fit.
Alimony Awards – Factors
There are lots of factors that the judge will consider before awarding a spouse alimony. Some of these factors are
The needs of the spouse making the request and the ability of the other spouse to pay
The length of the marriage
The emotional and physical health of the child, as well as the age of each spouse.
The earning capacity, level of education, employability, and the income of each spouse.
The standard of living while the marriage lasted
Each spouse’s responsibility as parents
The time and the cost of getting the right training for the supported spouse to be independent.
The financial as well as the non-financial contributions of each spouse to the marriage.
In New Jersey, alimony calculators, as well as support guidelines, do not exist. Therefore, the court will decide on the amount to pay as alimony after considering the factors above.
Alimony Modification and Termination
In any change in the surrounding situation, a judge has the freedom to alter rehabilitative alimony and limited duration alimony.
If any event assumed to take place and it did not take place after the court already gave an order, the court might decide to make modifications to the order.
If the spouse at the receiving end gets married again or becomes a part of the New Jersey civil union, the other souse should be aware so that the alimony can terminate.
Nevertheless, if unpaid arrears have piled up over time, the spouse providing support will have to pay up these arrears.